Tessar type F3.5 15cm 1918 lens on a plate camera

[miguel_tuna]

I bought this camera, not only because I wanted a plate camera, but for it lens too. I've saw 15cm lens on other cameras, but with f4.5. Have you ever saw one of these yet? By the way, the camera is from photo-porst, a house that sells cameras even today. The lens is a tessar, by its serial number, made in 1918.

[ImageMaker]

Not to pick nits, but it's *not* a Tessar type.  It's a Doppel Anastigmat Eurynar (says so on the name ring), a symmetrical 4 elements, 4 groups lens type that preceeds the Tessar.  Performance wasn't quite as good in some respects, and it had more flare (due to two more air-glass surfaces), but it was a little easier to make faster with the glasses available prior to the First World War and when stopped down will do anything you'd ever want to do with a plate camera.

Is that a 4x5, half plate, or one of the relatively rare 9x12 with a lens longer than 13.5 cm?

FWIW, as with many symmetrical lens designs, if you have enough bellows you can remove the front elements and use the back ones alone as a (approximately) 300 mm anastigmat.  Don't forget you'll be two stops slower than the aperture scale shows at twice the focal length...

[Mike Kovacs]

Hope the lens is better than the name "Eurynar" implies  

[Glenn Thoreson]

Yup, Eurynar. I have seen photos taken with Eurynars that were quite good. Some were actually stunning. I have a 135 Eurynar on a 3X4 Speed Graphic. Perfectly accurate dial set Compur like yours. Have I used it? Well, no. Another one on my list of things to do someday. I actually have a real 15cm f:3.5 Tessar. It's the only 3.5 I have ever run across. I just finished fine tuning the rangefinder on it's chosen Speed Graphic, so it will likely see use before the Erynar. I think you will enjoy that camera!

[OleTj]

It just so happens that one of my plate cameras has the same lens. Unfortunately there was a big chip in the front element (I bought the camera because it came with 10 plate holders with film inserts, which I wanted for another camera).

But I tested it anyway, and the Eurynar is a very sharp lens - but with poor contrast.

And then I suddenly got hold of anpther Eurynar, which some previous owner had had coated! With the increased contrast (and no chipped glass) it turns out to be a very sharp lens indeed. One of my old sources says it's sharper than a Dagor, and by direct comparison he's right!

[Mike Kovacs]

There's a place in Russia that will multicoat your glass for $15 per surface...

[OleTj]

The "place in Russia" is Arax Photo, and they're in Ukraine.

From what I've heard they're good, but I don't think they're the ones who had coated mine.

[miguel_tuna]

Yes, you're right, I think that it was a tessar with other name, because all original brands of the camera were taken off to give place to the "Photo-Porst" badge. Thanks for all your kind answers

[Mike Kovacs]

Russia, Austria Germany, Ukraine - you know what I mean